TORONTO -- Henry Burris had three touchdown passes and out-dueled longtime counterpart Ricky Ray, to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 36-24 win over the Toronto Argonauts in the Eastern Final on Sunday at the Rogers Centre.

Burris finished the afternoon with 371 passing yards on 27-40 passing and added 51 rushing yards, while keeping Ray and the Argo offence off the field through most of the second half to come back from a two-touchdown deficit and reach the Grey Cup Championship for the first time since 1999.

Andy Fantuz had a team-high 114 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, while the Ticat defence pitched a shutout in the second half in the first Eastern Final between these teams since 1986.

No sooner than the opening kickoff the action began, as Andre Durie was hit and stripped of the ball at the 35 yard-line where Frederic Plesius recovered to set the Ticats up with excellent field position.

The Argo defence rose to the occasion though and forced a 15-yard field goal by Luca Congi, making it 3-0 Ticats before Ray could get on the field. But on the momentum of an important stop on a short field, the Argo offence came out firing.

First Ray connected with Chad Owens for a 23-yard gain in the middle of the field, before finding Dontrelle Inman along the sideline for an 11-yard gain.

After a 23-yard gain to start things off and then consecutive completions to Dontrelle Inman and John Chiles, Ray capped off his first drive of the game with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Watt to put give the Argos a 7-3 lead.

The veteran pivot showed no signs of rust in his first action in three weeks, going perfect on a drive that needed just six plays and covered 64 yards.

The teams exchanged punts but the offences weren’t about to go quiet, as suddenly Burris and the ‘Cats came to life. The drive got started on a 49-yard pass to Sam Giguere behind the coverage of Jamie Robinson, moving the Ticats to the Toronto 31.

Following an illegal contact penalty, Burris finished things off with a throw to the back of the end zone for Andy Fantuz, who fought off tight coverage to haul in the 7-yard touchdown pass. That capped off an 11-play, 90-yard drive over 4:46 to restore Hamilton’s lead.

But before the first quarter ended, the Argos got the last word in with a 40-yard gain to Durie on a dump pass to move back into Hamilton territory. After a first down to Watt, it didn’t take long for the Argos to finish from there as Ray dropped in a perfect pass to Watt behind coverage for a 29-yard touchdown.

That finished off the Argos’ longest drive of the game so far of 72 yards, yet also one of their quickest over the span of just 2:20 to give Toronto a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter.

The Double Blue got the ball right back and went to work, thanks to some help by the league’s leader in yards after the catch. On second down Ray found Durie over the middle, and he took advantage of his blocks and sprinted for 59 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the one.

On the ensuing play Zach Collaros snuck around the end of the pile for the 1-yard score, giving the Argos a 21-10 lead with 6:43 remaining in the half.

Bad turned to worse for the Ticats, as Burris looked long on a second down play only to be picked off by rookie non-import defensive back Jermaine Gabriel, giving the Argo defence its first turnover of the game.

After Ray completed four straight passes though, the Ticat defence came through with a stop to force a 28-yard field goal from Swayze Waters, making it a two-touchdown game.

That defensive stop seemed to spark the Ticats, as Burris came back hot with completions to Fantuz and Giguere to move back into Argo territory. The Argos had seemingly ended the drive after getting Dan LeFevour in the backfield on third and one, but an offside penalty negated the play and gave Hamilton new life.

Ticat 'D' leads the way

After having problems stopping the Argos' high-octane offence in the first half, Orlondo Steinauer and the Ticats had all the answers in the second half. They forced several three and outs and held Ray and the Argos without a single second-half point.

In goal-to-go a time count violation cost the Ticats a down and nearly seven points, but on second down Burris found Fantuz just inside the goal line to cut Hamilton’s deficit to 24-17. Fantuz’s second touchdown of the game capped off an impressive 10-play, 75-yard drive and put the Ticats within close striking distance heading to halftime.

The Ticats continued their momentum in the second half, moving into Toronto territory on a first-down scramble by Burris followed by a completion on second down to Fantuz to move the sticks.

Burris struck on two more completions to Greg Ellingson and Luke Tasker, before finding Ellingson again in the end zone on second down for 14-yard touchdown to tie the game 24-24. That capped off a 68-yard drive in eight plays over the span of 3:50, marking Burris’ third touchdown pass of the game.

After forcing consecutive two-and-outs on defence, the Ticats added three more points at the end of the third quarter on the strength of a 46-yard catch-and-run by Bakari Grant and a Congi field goal, giving Hamilton a 27-24 lead heading to the fourth quarter and marking a run of 17 unanswered points.

The Argos couldn’t muster up any offence again, and after the teams swapped punts Ray and the offence would get another crack at the Ticats’ defence with 8:23 remaining in the game from their own 32.

But Hamilton came through with yet another stop, forcing the fourth Argos’ punt in the second half and the third two-and-out. Burris first kicked off the ensuing possession with a 14-yard run, before the drive was seemingly set to stall after a sack by Khalif Mitchell. Yet Burris continued to work his magic, this time hooking up with Grant for a 25-yard pickup on second-and-19 to move the chains.

The Boatmen seemed to have Burris and co. wrapped up after a stop on second down, but elected to accept a holding penalty on the Ticats to force them into second-and-long. The ensuing pass attempt fell incomplete, but the Argos were flagged for pass interference, giving the Ticats a first down at the Argo 38 heading into the three minute warning.

More time passed following two additional Ticat first downs, then on a second down Burris threw incomlete to Fantuz to lead to a 21-yard field goal by Congi. That made the score 30-24 Hamilton, leaving the Argos with 1:14 to go for the win.

The Argos covered a good distance on their first play with the ball, as Ray hit Owens for the first down before a facemask penalty moved the Boatmen to the Hamilton 45.

Ray went long twice after that and came up incomplete though, and on third down fired wide to Owens to clinch the win for Hamilton and send the Ticats to the Grey Cup Championship, where they'll aim for their first championship since 1999.

110Y and TFmcb both offered sad reasons why montreal isn't the beasts of the east and why they're!! whatever floats your boats gentlemen BUT the fact remains your all behind montreal and not gaining!!

November 18, 2013 - 9:01pm

tabbiefanmcb

Keep kidding yourself that Montreal is something special! WE know the truth!

November 18, 2013 - 11:14pm

als rule

they are and I KNOW YOU KNOW THE TRUTH THAT THEY ARE!!

November 19, 2013 - 8:02pm

als rule

AF4L31: what happened? losing to a 2nd tier QB after listening to you all season on how great T.O. was?!! guess your not that great of a team losing to hamilton!!

November 18, 2013 - 8:53pm

argofan4life31

actually my comments are always based on facts and the bigger man gives praise to the winning team.....also the team that the "beasts of the east (joke)" lost to last week

November 20, 2013 - 9:15am

Wheelers31

I would like to congratulate Hamilton on defeating Toronto. They looked better in the second half than they had against Montreal the week before, and kept RR off the field. I think they deserved to move on from this game.

November 18, 2013 - 2:48pm

tabbiefanmcb

Thanks! The Ticats have worked very hard and overcome many obstacles this season to reach this point. Now to bring home the Grey Cup!

November 19, 2013 - 9:56am

Wheelers31

I would like to congratulate Hamilton on defeating Toronto. They looked better in the second half than they had against Montreal the week before, and kept RR off the field. I think they deserved to move on from this game.

November 18, 2013 - 2:23pm

argofan4life31

I was at the game and would like to congratulate the ticat fans, 14 years is a long time to stay loyal, and you definitely have been.....now I hope you beat the riders for the big reward!!! Also hope Jones addresses the horrible 3rd rate defence in Toronto land!!! Go Cats Go!!!!

November 18, 2013 - 12:19pm

xblotterx

I just got to watch the game. In America it was shown on tape delay at 10PM. A good hard fought win. The Riders are going to be much tougher. We just have to hope the good Burris shows up. It's the only shot we have. The best thing about this victory is that Hamilton is going to the Grey Cup. The 2nd best thing about this win is that it's driving als rule crazy.

November 18, 2013 - 2:56am

saskfan56

Nice to see the Ticats win for two reasons. I like Kent Austin and could live with him hoisting the cup if the Riders happen to lose. Secondly, the city of Toronto, with all its apathy toward the CFL simply doesn't deserve a champion. I heard there were Riders fans who were in Toronto last year for the GC that were wished goodluck by Toronto people. I mean, shouldn't you actually be in the game to win, but that's how little they cared.

November 18, 2013 - 12:15am

tabbiefanmcb

ar - Thanks for the compliment - kinda bowls me over - but NO ONE really gave the Ticats a chance except for their fans who know just a little bit more about the team (if they want to) and what is making them tick. About 15000 of those fans were from Hamilton - they packed the GO trains and came out to support their team. Bob Young is an Awesome owner and has always had faith, even when the team wasn't great, that they would become contenders! Full credit to Austin, the coaching staff and of course the players!! Much as you want to see Hank as 2nd rate you are WRONG IMO!

November 17, 2013 - 10:24pm

als rule

well good luck sunday and who smiles the best sunday nite in regina wins the 2013 season!!

November 19, 2013 - 8:04pm

somethingsbest

Argos lost because the sidelined no. 12 (Ford)

November 17, 2013 - 9:14pm

CFLguy55

I agree with Small Town Argo. Ti-cats won fair and square. And though I was surrounded by Ticat fans in section 215, they were great fans and well behaved. We had a good time. I can't say the same for the Argo fans in the Suite above us that threw beer on the Ticat fans near the end of the game. Certainly uncalled for. Good luck in Regina, Tabbies!